Rediscovering Country Music

I use just two of the presets in my car radio - preset 1 is 90.1, KERA/NPR, and preset 3 is 91.7 KXT. One day earlier in the week my finger missed preset 3 and hit preset 4 instead. I have no idea what any other preset is set to, so I was surprised to all of a sudden be hearing country music.

It's been an awfully long time since I have listened to country music. I haven't ever really been the target demographic for country music - I didn't grow up on a farm, I wasn't a member of FFA, I never owned boots or a truck or a cowboy hat; lots of the songs I don't relate to (beer, fishing, living in the country). But some country I really liked, and my sister and I would spend a decent amount of time watching CMT while growing up (our favorite was the Labor Day Top 100 Countdown). When Em and I lived together in West Valley, country was a big part of our rotation. We attended multiple Tim McGraw concerts (Em's favorite), along with Rascal Flatts, Chris Cagle, and Lady Antebellum. Gary Allan is one of my favorites ("Songs About Rain" is one of my favorite songs ever).

But then I moved to New York City, which didn't have a country station. It's not like I had a car, anyway, to listen to the radio while commuting. I also didn't have cable, so country music sort of went by the wayside. Musical tastes change for lots of people, and an interest in country music was one that changed for me.

So when I accidentally switched the radio to the local country station I was a little curious. I randomly came across the latest single from Garth Brooks, "Ask Me How I Know", as it was the song playing when I landed on the station. I liked it. And I kept listening to the channel randomly during the week.

I like the memories that I'm reminded of when I hear certain songs.